The Law of Intellectual Entropy

The law of Intellectual Entropy (formerly the Theory of Intellectual Entropy) was first discovered
shortly after the invention of the abacus and formalized by the Bulgarian
Bishop Bnorodor in the 10th century C.E. after the development by (Saint) Cryl
of an especially cryptic alphabet. It has since gone through several
permutations, each of which have proved its validity by their very existence.
This fundamental Law of Nature is now generally ignored and vehemently denied
even when acknowledged. It is the very antithesis of the modern scientific age.

The Law states: "Intelligence is a measure of the ease with which one
solves problems. As problems increase in complexity, so too must intelligence
increase. If the complexity of a problem exceeds the ability of intelligence to
solve it, then intelligence ceases to have relevance. When intelligence is used
to create problems that defy resolution it renders itself superfluous.

As problems increase in complexity there are fewer people having sufficient
intelligence to even comprehend much less resolve them, making the vast majority of moderately
intelligent people seem less and less capable. It has the
effect of disenfranchising those of less intelligence from the process of
problem resolution and creates an intellectual elite.

This elite has fewer
members as the level of complexity of the problems encountered increases. The
ultimate consequence of this evolution of lost capacity is that the total
intelligence of the entire species decreases. The clearest evidence is the operation
of this Law is that those having the most intelligence persist in creating
insoluble problems. Surely a stupid thing to do."

This collective loss of intelligence in not merely apparent, its affects are
real and quantifiable (see this). The fact that the most intelligent people continue to
create insoluble problems is the clearest evidence of the applicability of this
Law. The obvious fact that intelligent people rarely agree about even the most
basic questions is yet more evidence. The fact that people can't even agree on
what constitutes a fact is still more evidence. The details of the innumerable
controversies in which we regularly entangle ourselves are not important, it's
the context that reveals the operation of the Law of Intellectual Entropy.

Entropy is the irrecoverable loss of energy, degeneration, the inevitable
"progress" toward inertia. As living becomes more difficult and more
complicated and decisions have greater effect on more people, more
intelligence is required to merely survive.

Those lacking at least that minimum
quanta of intelligence will become more dependent on those more capable. This
requires that the level of trust likewise increase since the followers lack the
means (intelligence) to determine if the solutions offered by their
leaders are proper or even workable. There is nothing
in history justifying this trust yet it is essential; we trust because we don't
know what else to do. Surely an eloquent proof of the Law (see this).

Ironically, the greatest minds of past ages would be considered abject
morons by today's standards since the deepest and most difficult problems
they dealt with are trivial when compared to those we wrestle with now.
Once a problem is "solved" that solution becomes understood and is
incorporated into the general knowledge of later generations. The problem
of gravity in the 17th century is easily comprehended by school children
today. The various Laws of electro-magnetism are not only considered Laws
but are taught to kids in even the most mediocre schools. A work of the
purest genius in past generations is mere rote memorization today.

We have now become dependent on machines. We have transferred our trust to
devices that have neither intelligence nor understanding. Complexity has
surpassed our ability to comprehend. The intellectual elite has become the
creators of the machine and the machine creates the solutions. This abdication
of responsibility requires that we trust inanimate machines to determine our
collective future. This relationship will diminish the importance of human
intelligence until, eventually, human intelligence loses its value and becomes
merely vestigial. Again, proof that the Law is real and that is in full effect.

To see where you fit on the scale of the Survival Intelligence Minimum Scale, Click Here